


Unconscious Power

by Dan_Francisco



Category: Team Fortress 2, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Action, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, Post-JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency, Stands (JoJo)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dan_Francisco/pseuds/Dan_Francisco
Summary: A strange meteor crash-lands somewhere in Africa, where the Speedwagon Foundation begins to report unusual goings-on. Fearful that this signals Dio's return, Joseph and Lisa Lisa head out to investigate.
Kudos: 10





	1. Reliable Excavations & Demolitions

**Author's Note:**

> As per usual, I have to thank Fae, Hyenalope, Paunchy, and Ravenshadow for inspiring (and partially bullying) me to go ahead and write this, as well as putting up with all of my goofy JoJo questions and ramblings to get to this.

_Wadi Halfa, Sudan_

_January 20 th, 1962_

Joseph sighed as he looked out at the seemingly endless desert, a hazy wave rising up out of it as the heat wafted off the sands. Lisa Lisa stood just behind him, her hand on the rental car’s door, tapping away at it impatiently. There was something interesting and oddly foreboding about the vast distances ahead of him, as if fate had called him here – and would call him to this corner of the world again. A breeze, no doubt coming off the coast far away, passed over them.

“Joseph,” Lisa Lisa said. “We need to go.”

“I know,” he said, yanking open the car door. God, he almost knew this vehicle like the back of his hand. That German, von Stroheim, had driven a car just like this when he met the man in Italy all those years ago. It felt like it was yesterday.

He drove with Lisa Lisa to their destination, the impact of a meteor of some kind. Lisa Lisa didn’t tell him much about it, other than local contacts in the Speedwagon Foundation said strange people were around, and even stranger things were happening. This, she postulated, could signal Dio’s return. And if Dio had returned, then it was bad news for _all_ of them. The impact site was well-guarded, with barbed wire set up and people wandering around it, all with red on their clothing in some fashion.

“Who are these guys?” Joseph asked as they got closer. “Do you know them?”

“No,” Lisa Lisa replied. “Speedwagon said they’re mercenaries. Stop here, we should observe them.”

They were close to a hill – that would give them a decent spot to watch the mercenaries from. He and Lisa Lisa kept low, using binoculars to scout out the area. The barbed wire was vast, and their checkpoint guarding the sole road in was a simple structure that provided shade but not much else. Joseph counted eight men – two near the checkpoint. One roamed the wire with a flamethrower. Another one with explosive weapons sat on a chair, drinking. A massive, shaved bear of a man stood next to what looked like a doctor and an engineer, pointing to a map the doctor held. Joseph could just barely see the crater, hidden by temporary walls made of sheet metal.

“I wonder what they’re hiding,” Joseph muttered, rubbing his chin as he lowered the binoculars.

“That meteor is obviously important to them,” Lisa Lisa said. “But why?”

Joseph stared at the site. These guys were clearly preparing for something. It looked like they had started building another structure elsewhere, this one made out of prefabricated pieces of plywood and plaster, and the more he looked the more he saw strange things. A red-painted machine gun sat on a tripod, guarding an entrance to the interior of the impact site.

“Well, let’s go find out,” Joseph said, leaping up from the rock and heading down.

Lisa Lisa scrambled to get up behind him, following him down and stopping him before he could move any closer. “Joseph. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“When have you ever known me to do anything stupid?”

“Every day since I met you.”

Joseph flashed a smile, stepping off to approach the mercenaries. The second one of them spotted him – a thin guy that had a ballcap and earpiece on his head, shotgun in hand – they cocked their weapons, walking towards him with cross looks on their faces.

“Yo, tough guy!” the thin one said – Joseph decided to nickname him Scout – walking towards him with a swagger that told Joseph he hadn’t fought much. “Place is closed. Make like a tree and get the fuck outta here.”

Joseph shrugged, putting on his best “confused tourist” look. “Oh, I’m sorry about that. Well, hey, my car’s broken down, I was just seeing if you guys could help me out with it!”

 _“_ _Do! Not! Do it!_ ” the other man called. He looked older, with a helmet that covered his eyes. Okay, this one was Soldier. “Do not even _think_ about doing it! Do not even think about _not_ doing it!”

Scout turned back, staring at Soldier with a strange look on his face. Joseph stared too, confused as to what was going on. He shook the strangeness off, taking a few steps forward. “Hey, like I said, my car’s busted, so if you guys-”

“Didn’t you get the idea, pal?” Scout yelled. “Get outta here!”

“Whoa, what’s with the hostility?” Joseph asked, putting on a mock offended face. “I just need some help, and I’ll be out of your way, alright?”

“Son,” Soldier shouted, jabbing a meaty finger at him. “Your mouth is writing checks your ass cannot cash! Don’t listen to him, don’t help him!”

_Alright, a pair of tough guys,_ Joseph thought. He sighed, shaking his head. “Alright then, guess I’ll go find someone else to help me…”

Scout laughed, a short, haughty thing that barely lasted a second. He rested his gun on his shoulder, shooting Joseph a cocky look. “Yeah, good luck, bozo. Dere ain’t anyone for fuckin’ _miles_ around.”

First mistake – Joseph wasn’t sure if they had any reinforcements. Scout had just confirmed they didn’t. He said nothing in response, heading back to Lisa Lisa who had been watching from the car with a cross look on her face. For now, leaving them alone was good, and Joseph relayed what he had learned, which admittedly wasn’t much.

“Great, so we know they _definitely_ won’t give this place up without a fight,” Lisa Lisa said, sighing heavily. “We could call Speedwagon, get some men down here-”

“We don’t have time for that,” Joseph said. “What if Dio’s in there somewhere, planning to take us out? We should get rid of these mercenaries _now._ ”

Without even flinching, Lisa Lisa stared out at the mercenary’s site. He couldn’t tell because of her mirrored glasses, but it looked like she was almost analyzing their movements. “They’re watching us,” she finally said.

“All the more reason to go _now!_ ”

“Fine,” Lisa Lisa said, wrapping her scarf around her neck slightly tighter. “They only have guns. Our Hamon will protect us.”

Joseph smiled, holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked back at the outpost. Soldier had left, leaving just Scout. Even better – they could knock him out before he even knew what was happening. “Lady luck is coming our way! Look, it’s just that guy, all alone.”

“ _Be careful,”_ Lisa Lisa reminded him. “They could still be dangerous.”

Scoffing, Joseph fell in line next to Lisa Lisa as they approached. How dangerous could these guys be, after all? He had been able to beat anyone and everyone with just Hamon before, and somebody who didn’t know it existed? Well, he’d knocked them out before they could react.

As they stepped closer, Scout frowned, furrowing his brow and raising his gun at them. “Yo, fucking moron, didn’t you hear me? Off-fucking-limits!”

“Is that any way to treat a friend of yours?” Joseph asked.

“I ain’t your friend, pal, so-” Scout paused, fixing his eyes on Lisa Lisa, smiling wide and walking suavely over to them, flexing his arms. Honestly, Joseph didn’t even see a single muscle. “Oh, _hello_ nurse! Yo, check it out, I got more than just this gun, yanno? I got guns. _Lots_ of them.”

Lisa Lisa looked unimpressed. “Get out of my way,” she said. “Or I’ll have to hurt you.”

Scout chuckled, gesturing to his face. “Ah, come on, you can’t resist this. Check this out Herc, I bet ya I can swoop your girlfriend away from you no problem. Ladies love me.”

“Not my girlfriend,” Joseph said, cringing on the inside. “You should listen to her, you know.”

By now, Scout had begun flexing like no tomorrow, still failing to impress either Joseph or Lisa Lisa. He had dropped his gun, working on pulling his shirt off, but between his hat and the bag strapped around his chest, it was pretty slow going. “Okay, sister, fuckin’ whatever, alright? Point is, I can totally – damn, what the fuck is this caught on? - steal her away, got it? She’ll be _wishing_ she’d never met you.”

“Enough,” Lisa Lisa said, channeling her Hamon into her scarf. She snatched Scout’s leg up and dragged him along the ground, effectively blinding him as sand and dust was kicked up by his travel. Joseph watched the smoke trail billow out and around, covering his mouth to prevent sand from flying into his nose.

“Huh,” he muttered. “Thought that’d be a bit harder.”

“He’ll be fine,” Lisa Lisa replied. “He’s out of our way, and that’s what matters.”

Joseph shrugged, following Lisa Lisa. She stepped closer towards the outpost, before stopping and gasping in shock. Blinking, Joseph paused as well, wondering why she had stopped. Nothing _seemed_ out of the ordinary. “Uh, hello?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. “What’s up?”

Weird. Something felt… _off._ He looked around, and realized what gave him these strange feelings. There was no indication Scout had actually been dragged by Lisa Lisa’s scarf. In fact, Joseph couldn’t see him at _all._ By all accounts, he should have been lying in the dirt, covered in sand and trying to figure out how to get his shirt off. So where had he gone?

_"Wananananana…"_

『 Fortunate Son 』

『 Scout 』

Joseph blinked, and in a split second Scout was right in front of him, an evil smile on his face and perfectly fine. In the span of time it took him to blink again, Scout had disappeared. Joseph could barely believe his eyes – this didn’t make any sense. He didn’t detect that this guy could use Hamon, so how was he moving so fast?

“Li-”

“You feel it too, then,” Lisa Lisa said, her voice shaky. “Something’s not right. He doesn’t feel like a Hamon user, but it moves like Hamon.”

In a flash, Scout appeared in front of them, rubbing his chest with his knuckles triumphantly. “Yo, I’m not even breakin’ a sweat,” he bragged, grabbing an aluminum baseball bat. “You losers are about to catch a _real_ beatin’. Don’t even need my gun, how fuckin’ cool is that?”

“Who are you?” Lisa Lisa asked. “You’re not a Hamon user, are you?”

“Mmm, nope, sorry pal. Don’t know what this Harmon stuff is.” He examined his nails, chuckling as he set his feet up for an attack. Joseph knew this stance too well – time to fight. “But hey, this alien power’s super fuckin’ cool!”

“Alien power?” Joseph asked. He couldn’t get anything else out if he tried – Scout disappeared again, and before even a second had passed he felt pain shooting up through his leg. Someone – no, _Scout_ – had hit him. He cursed under his breath – he can’t fight someone who moves so fast he can’t see.

Lisa Lisa stood on her guard, her Hamon already channeling through her scarf in order to protect her. “Joseph, he’s dangerous. We need to act carefully.”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Joseph snapped. “He might have broken my leg!”

“Yo, if you didn’t want me to hit ya, you should have said something!” Scout taunted, appearing before them again. “Pop quiz: How long’s it take to beat a moron to death?”

Joseph didn’t answer, not that he wanted to. He found himself assaulted from three different angles, each hit slamming into him at full force. The bat clanged as it hit him, and as the wind was knocked out of him, he felt his Hamon draining like an open faucet. Joseph _definitely_ couldn’t fight like this.

Scout imitated a buzzer sounding, standing over him with the bat in hand. “Sorry, time’s up, you’re dead.”

Joseph smirked, which seemed to surprise Scout. He paused, just long enough for Joseph to grab a handful of sand and launch it in Scout’s face, temporarily blinding him and causing him to hold off on his attack. Joseph used the opportunity to back off and regulate his breathing, and as an added bonus, Lisa Lisa had begun using her scarf to attack Scout, electrifying it with Hamon and knocking him back. Gaining a second wind, Joseph charged his Hamon, sending an overcharged punch to the now dazed and confused Scout.

Except when the dust settled, all Joseph saw was a crater where his punch had landed, and no Scout.

“What the – where’d he go?!” Joseph shouted.

“I don’t know!” Lisa Lisa yelled back, scanning the horizon. “He’s too fast for us!”

The sound of shoes scratching against the ground rolled up from behind him. Joseph turned around just in time to see Scout pointing to the sky, swinging his bat back as if he was about to receive a pitch at the World Series. Reacting quickly, Joseph grabbed Scout’s bat before he could make contact, another surprise to him.

“Next you’ll say, ‘How’d you grab my bat,’ am I right?”

Scout scoffed, shaking his head. “Ha-hey, that’s pretty cool, dude. I got one for ya – blah blah blah, I’m dead!” Seconds later, his hand shot up, snatching Lisa Lisa’s scarf filled with Hamon energy but completely ineffective. Scout looked over at her, the same cocky look on his face. “Yo, honestly? You were pretty hot, but right now? I’m just pissed off.”

 _Wait, that was it._ Joseph knew how he’d beat this guy now. “Yeah, I’m sure you aren’t her type anyway,” Joseph taunted, keeping himself guarded against a potential light-speed attack. Scout immediately reacted, his face twisting around in mingled outrage and confusion.

“You wanna say that to my face, tough guy?” Scout demanded, releasing the scarf and marching over to him. “I am _so_ her fucking type! Alright? I’m _every_ girl’s type! I got girls lined up at my door since last week, got it?!”

“Really?” Joseph said, watching Scout’s face turn redder and redder. “Why aren’t they out here, then?”

“Listen here, fucko, I’m gonna beat on your skull till I hit tonsils! And when I’m done with _that,_ I’m gonna-”

“Oh, ignoring the lady, huh?” Joseph smiled, shrugging in a highly exaggerated manner. “Guess she’s not all that important, then. Can’t help but wonder what she thinks.”

Scout’s face flashed in anger, before he clenched his fight tight. _Just a little more._ He was so close to losing his cool, all Joseph needed to do was push him a little farther. Like he had a chip the size of Scotland on his shoulder, Scout huffed and turned towards Lisa Lisa, about to say something when her scarf flew at him at high speed. The blitz attack left Scout crumpling over, which Lisa Lisa immediately followed up with a spinning double kick, flipping over Scout and sending a Hamon pulse directly into his head with her hands crossed, almost the exact same way she had put the breathing mask on Joseph.

Scout bounced off the ground, sliding across it as the Hamon coursed through him. Lisa Lisa regained her footing gracefully, her scarf settling around her neck once more. In a flash, Scout also recovered, but Joseph knew his first reaction would be to charge up and attack. Therefore, the best way to catch him off guard was to clothesline Scout as he ran past, magical powers or no. Luckily for him, Scout hadn’t used whatever strange Hamon skills he had, and this meant Joseph could wrap him in a headlock, flipping him over his head and slamming Scout into the ground for the final time. A small crater surrounded Scout, a result of the Hamon overdrive Joseph had used to put him down, this time for good.

“Is he dead?” Lisa Lisa asked. “Or just knocked out?”

Joseph sighed heavily, wiping his face off. The heat of the desert and fighting had gotten to him, sweat dripping down his face. “I think just knocked out.”

“Ugh…” Scout groaned, barely able to lift his head up. “Medic…”

“Did you hear what he said?” Joseph asked, ignoring him.

“Mhm,” Lisa Lisa said, nodding. “He said ‘alien power.’ We need to find what they’re guarding.”

“What do you think it is?”

He looked up, seeing that Lisa Lisa had turned her gaze to the steel that surrounded whatever the mercenaries were guarding. Maybe the meteor? Just beyond the wire, the one with the flamethrower that Joseph had seen earlier – Pyro was his new nickname – walked towards them, a menacing look in the round eyepieces that characterized his gas mask. The rubber had a dull shine to it, reflecting the intense sun that stood over them, and his flamethrower – crudely made and consisting of what looked like a gas pump handle with a propane tank haphazardly strapped to a long tube – was continually lit, easily able to set them on fire in seconds. Joseph didn’t much play with fire, but he was not inclined to start now.

“Any ideas on how to deal with _this_ guy?” Joseph asked, assuming a battle stance as the Pyro began to walk menacingly towards them.

“Don’t get caught in the fire,” Lisa Lisa advised. “Hamon can protect us from a lot, but fire drains us of oxygen. No oxygen -”

“No Hamon,” Joseph concluded, nodding. He took a long, deep breath, stabilizing his breathing. Pyro looked up slowly at the pair, his – her shoulders? Joseph couldn’t tell, damn that heavy suit – shoulders heaved, slowly shifting up and down with each deliberate, calculated breath. The thick glass eyepieces obscured Pyro’s eyes, and he wasn’t sure what this… _thing_ was intending to do.

『 Disco Inferno 』

『 Pyro 』

A harsh wind fell across the field, rusting the barbed wire. Pyro stared at them, before shifting his foot back and leveling the flamethrower at them. Damn, Joseph used to know how far flamethrowers could reach. How far was it again? Maybe he was already too close. Either way, a plume of flames shot out towards them, forcing Joseph and Lisa Lisa to break off to opposite sides to avoid the licks of fire. Already, he could feel the intense heat from the flamethrower, taking away precious fuel for Hamon.

Joseph grunted, channeling his Hamon to give him a burst of speed and ignore the pain in his legs. Before he could pull his fist back, he found himself pushed back by some sort of invisible force, and only the intervention of Lisa Lisa’s scarf saved him from being immolated by a burst of fire. _Alright, little different,_ Joseph though, getting back on his feet. No point in staying still. After all, Pyro had already started swinging the flamethrower his way, prompting Joseph to dodge again and try formulating a plan of attack. Whatever strange force these guys were using, Pyro was able to use it to push Joseph away and prevent him from getting close.

Their best hope was to distract him, but Joseph just couldn’t figure this guy out. He hadn’t said a word to them since their encounter began, so he couldn’t resort to taunting him. Misdirection had to be Joseph’s play here, but how do you distract a guy singularly focused on setting you on fire? Lisa Lisa seemed to have drawn his attention for the time being, deftly avoiding being consumed by the flames and utilizing rocks to attack him at range. Damn, if Joseph had his clackers, that’d make this easier… time to improvise, then.

Lisa Lisa and Joseph worked in tandem, unspoken communication between them confirming their plan to keep Pyro on his toes. They edged as close as his mysterious power allowed, lobbing rocks and pieces of hard debris filled with Hamon at him, and one by one the chip damage began to wear Pyro down. Joseph watched their masked for tire and wear out, his shoulders rising and falling dramatically with each breath. Pyro’s movements were sluggish, as if maneuvering the flamethrower was now the hardest thing they have done in their life, and Joseph could clearly hear labored breathing through the gas mask.

Pyro charged at Joseph, giving Lisa Lisa the opportunity to slip in around his defenses and deliver a devastating Hamon attack, cracking his eyepieces and causing a strange hissing noise to escape from the suit. Joseph watched with bated breath as Pyro collapsed, dropping the flamethrower and crumpling in front of him. Compared to Scout, this was easy – Pyro hadn’t even touched him, but the secret was out now. Lisa Lisa and Joseph _knew_ these weren’t ordinary mercs. Whatever they were, whoever they were, their tricks wouldn’t do much good now.

“You!” a voice called. Joseph recognized it – Soldier appeared before them, with a black man covered in armor and with an eyepatch, who Joseph decided to nickname Demo, by his side. Soldier pointed a fat finger at them, a small shovel in his other hand while Demo wielded what looked like a grenade launcher. “Stop right where you are! That is an order!”

“Ye won’t be getting’ past us!” Demo shouted, spinning the revolver-like chamber on his grenade launcher.

Joseph sighed, preparing to fight again. Two on two. Should be easy. “We just beat two of your other friends,” he taunted. “Do you really want to take us on?”

“We have you surrounded, at least from this side!” Soldier yelled back, cracking his neck.

『 Screaming Eagle 』

『 Soldier 』

『 Exiled Ace 』

『 Demo 』

Lisa Lisa immediately broke off to the left, distracting Demo as he lobbed grenades at the. Joseph elected to tangle with Soldier, who took great glee in charging at him with his shovel. At the last second though, Soldier unexpectedly flew into the air as if propelled by some invisible force. Joseph tried to track him, but found himself staring at an empty blue sky with no enemy to be seen. He paused, channeling his Hamon to heighten his own senses. _There we go._ Soldier was coming from the sky, and Joseph rolled out of the way as he came down harm, swinging his shovel with lethal intent but missing in response.

“Dammit!” Soldier yelled. “You cannot outrun me, I am faster!”

Joseph rolled his shoulders back, smirking. “Can’t hit what isn’t there! Didn’t they teach you that at basic training?”

“If _God_ had wanted you to live, He would not have created _me!_ ” In a flash, Soldier stepped off again, charging at him with the same explosive leaps and bounds that marked his rapid ascent to the sky. Joseph did his best to dodge, but unfortunately Soldier was too quick for him, and he felt the hard steel of the shovel slam right into his head, knocking him straight to the ground.

“Ugh… dammit,” Joseph muttered, slowly picking himself up off the ground. Soldier’s boot met his back soon enough, keeping him down.

“I joined this team just to kill maggots like you,” Soldier taunted, lifting his boot only to kick Joseph away.

Still in incredible pain, Joseph got on his feet, struggling the whole way. So, that’s how he wanted to play this, huh? “How’s about this,” he said, pointing his finger at Soldier. “Your next line is, ‘The last word out of your sorry mouth will be _Sir,_ and it will be loud,’ isn’t it?”

“The _last word_ out of your sorry mouth will be _Sir,_ and it will be _loud!_ ” Soldier shouted, before pausing. His helmet jerked back and forth as he shook his head, rubbing his chin. “Wait, no, that’s… Dammit! I will _enjoy_ killing you, you scum-sucking fruit basket!”

Joseph smirked, beckoning for Soldier to come closer, if he so dared. “Well, do it then!” Like he predicted, Soldier launched into a rage, leaping at him with the shovel cocked back. Joseph blocked the incoming hit, deflecting it and knocking the tool out of his hands. The blade embedded itself into the ground as Soldier tumbled, recovering quickly as his boots kicked up a cloud of dust.

He sprang towards Joseph, no doubt intent on wrapping his hands around Joseph’s neck and strangling him. Thinking quickly, Joseph sidestepped and threw a Hamon-charged punch right into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of Soldier. Joseph followed this up with a kick that resulted in what sounded like broken bones. He wasn’t sure what exactly he had done, but it was enough to take Soldier out of the fight. He glanced up – Lisa Lisa had similarly dealt with Demo, meaning that, for now, they could progress further.

And yet, something was off. He could just feel it. There was a lonely watchtower, a crudely-built thing that he hadn’t noticed on his first scan of the area. Was he imagining things, or was that the glint of something glass up at the top of that tower?

“Do you see that?” Joseph asked, pointing to the tower.

“Yes,” Lisa Lisa replied.

He swallowed, uncertain what this mean. Was the sun catching on something as simple as a spotlight, or was this some sort of enemy attack being prepared? Either way, Joseph wasn’t a fan of it.

Without warning, a shot rang out. Joseph felt the bullet whip past him, only missing his head by mere inches. Any closer to the right, and he’d be dead for sure. _So, they’ve got a sniper,_ Joseph though. A hot, musty wind passed through the area as he and Lisa Lisa sprinted for cover, taking fire the entire way. Well, at least Joseph could deal with a guy using a gun. _That_ was a hell of a lot easier than the insane powers these last few guys had been using.

『 Sound of Silence 』

『 Sniper 』

“Any ideas?” Joseph called out, hiding behind a large rock.

From her spot of cover, a truck emblazoned with the logo of the mercenary’s company, Lisa Lisa shot a dirty look Joseph’s way. “Why do you keep asking _me_ for ideas?”

“I don’t know! I thought maybe you had faced something like this before!”

“What makes you think I _have?!_ ”

A curious electronic buzzing sound emanated from just behind them. Lisa Lisa’s arm began to bleed as her sleeve was practically cut off, a serious cut appearing on her upper arm. All at once, Joseph felt an overwhelming sense of dread, his very bones chilled as if someone had stuck an icicle up his ass. Somebody put their hand on his shoulder, accompanied by a series of clicking noises, further intensifying Joseph’s feelings of being immensely cold.

“May I make a suggestion?” a cold, French-accented voice said. “ _Run._ ”

Joseph flinched right as the strange Frenchman began to swing at him. He saw the faintest glimpse of a butterfly knife sailing for his head as he dodged away, trying to throw a Hamon-infused punch but only getting empty air in response. The Frenchman chuckled, tapping his watch and disappearing right in front of his very eyes.

『 Coffee and Cigarettes 』

『 Spy 』

“He-he just disappeared!” Joseph shouted, twisting his neck around every possible angle. Where had he _gone?_ This didn’t make any sense. A bullet answered him, cracking the air past his head. Okay, so the sniper still had a good sight on them. He couldn’t fight one guy at close range, and another at long range.

“Joseph! Keep this one occupied!”

Joseph blinked, staring at Lisa Lisa as she began to sprint for the tower, dodging bullets the entire way. What was she planning on doing? No matter, he couldn’t focus on that right now, he just had to trust her. Where had this spy gone? After all, a guy wearing a red suit and a ski mask in the middle of the desert ought to be pretty easy to track.

He heard a low, long whistle, almost like someone was replicating the noises ghosts made in old horror movies. It was coming from behind him. Joseph whipped around, fists ready, but only saw the haze of the desert heat for miles around, marred only by the barbed wire that surrounded the encampment.

“Promise not to bleed on my suit,” Spy said, slowly turning visible in front of Joseph’s very eyes, adjusting his tie, “and I’ll kill you quickly.”

“So, what’s your story,” Joseph asked, clenching his fists. “Super speed? Super strength? Or is this parlor trick all you have going for you?”

The spy smirked, twisting his butterfly knife in so many directions, Joseph honestly couldn’t keep track of it. With a flair that sent a ray of sun into Joseph’s eye, Spy put up a classic guarded stance, closing in to swing. “Nothing personal, I just have to stop you!”

Faster than he could blink, Spy cut Joseph along his forearms, causing a cascade of blood to run down them as the open wounds bled rapidly. Joseph jumped back, just in time to avoid another blazing fast attack that surely would have come right for his throat.

“Ugh,” Spy groaned, adjusting his tie as he circled him like a vulture. “You got blood on my suit. This cost me $9,000, you know.”

“That much?” Joseph asked, taking a deep breath to stabilize his Hamon. He could feel the bleeding slow, at least a little. That’d help out some. “For that kind of money, I thought you would have gotten something better-looking!”

Spy said nothing, only turning invisible again to come at him from another angle. Joseph had figured something out about this guy’s abilities, though – he still made noises. He could still hear the sound of his fancy shoes against the sandy dirt, see small pieces of dust kicked up by each step he took. Joseph silently tracked his opponent, not letting on that he had caught onto the trick.

Just as he began to turn visible again, Joseph turned to deliver a cross chop for Spy’s throat. His attack found no purchase though, and a second later he heard a gunshot, followed up by the feeling of something incredibly hot in his side. The rank smell of gunpowder invaded his nose, and Joseph immediately knew what happened. He had been _shot._

“Weren’t you supposed to be _good_ at dodging?” Spy asked, holding a smoking gun in his offhand. An evil grin crossed his face as he stood tall again, putting away his revolver with an air of debonair.

Joseph coughed, swinging again only for Spy to calmly and coolly block the clumsy attack, a cocked eyebrow his only response. “Your next line is ‘You are an amateur and a fool,’ isn’t it?”

Spy scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You are an amateur and a fo-” His cigarette fell out of his mouth, up until now perfectly placed between his lips as he stared in stunned silence. “H-how did you know that?!”

“Heh. You mercenaries have all been the same so far,” Joseph muttered, standing tall. “Too much gloating, not enough fighting! Eat this!”

Without allowing Spy to recover, Joseph swung at him with the full power of his Hamon, ignoring the bullet in his side. Spy was unprepared for the punch, sending him careening across the ground and into a parked armored vehicle, whose heavy metal plating bent and buckled under the force of the attack, with a veritable waterfall of blood hitting the ground just after. _Good._ One more merc down. How many others were left?

Actually, more importantly, where had Lisa Lisa gone? Joseph ran to the watchtower, only to be greeted by a man falling down from it. He was bloodied and battered, his aviators shattered as he clutched Joseph’s leg. “Help!” he yelled. “She’s a bloody madwoman, I tell ya!”

“Uh…” Joseph said, unsure how to react. “I… don’t know how to help you.”

“Leave him,” Lisa Lisa shouted from the top of the tower. “We need to keep moving. There’s three more mercenaries left.”

Joseph looked up, seeing that, for all purposes, Lisa Lisa wasn’t much worse for wear. “You got that out of a five minute fight with him?”

“Of course not,” she replied, descending the tower with a graceful leap. “I made him tell us everything he knew. Come on, we don’t have time to waste.”

They ran down a series of sheet metal corridors, apparently a means to funnel potential enemies into killing zones. Short notes spray painted onto the walls gave directions and warned of dangers ahead, until they reached what looked like a staging area, complete with maps on nearly every surface and technical drawings of strange machines. In this area stood three men, just like the sniper had claimed. One was a man in brown overalls, a hard hat on his head and goggles over his eyes. The other was what Joseph could accurately call a shaved bear, wielding a massive gun and with bullets all over him. Finally, the third was a man in a white medical coat, a pair of small, round glasses being pushed up by his gloved hands.

“Pah,” the apparent doctor said, sneering at Lisa Lisa and Joseph. He had the same sort of heavy German accent like von Stroheim, though his voice was colored with far more disdain than anything else. “Kill zem! And let anyone still alive know that zey have let me down!”

The short man and the huge guy – Joseph decided to nickname them Engineer and Heavy respectively – both stared at the two. Heavy cracked his knuckles, while Engineer just rested his wrench on his shoulder.

『 Slavsya Rus 』

『 Heavy 』

『 The Man 』

『 Engineer 』

Heavy rolled his neck, tossing his massive gun to the side. It fell with a heavy clatter, kicking up dust as it hit the ground. “New gun is _unfair_ to tiny baby enemies,” he growled, a thick Russian accent emanating from his mouth.

“Y’all’re about to have a real bad day,” Engineer proclaimed. He stood by, watching with a smirk on his face as Heavy charged at Joseph, throwing a haymaker while yelling the entire time. Joseph blocked the attack as best he could, but the massive amount of force behind the punch nearly broke Joseph’s arms, sending him sliding across the desert a good two feet.

“Jeez!” Joseph yelled, trying to strike back but only getting a limp punch in response. “What’s this guy made of, solid steel?!”

Heavy laughed, grabbing Joseph’s arm and swinging him into the wall. “I have plan for you: **pain without end!** ”

Out of the corner of his eye, Joseph saw Lisa Lisa start to move, heading for Engineer. He hadn’t even so much as moved a muscle, but before he could blink the sounds of quick, rushed combat broke out with Lisa Lisa being launched against the wall as well. She crumpled against it, struggling to get up.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Engineer said, calmly walking over to a wounded Lisa Lisa. “Why don’t y’all git along before one of you gets hurt?”

Scoffing, Lisa Lisa sent her scarf out, channeling her Hamon as it wrapped around his leg and throwing him off-balance. Within mere seconds, she had recovered and set about assaulting Engineer, and the momentary turn of the tables gave Joseph an opportunity to knee Heavy in the crotch, disabling him.

Or so he thought. Without even blinking, Heavy turned his head from the chaos next to him to stare Joseph down, a dark look crossing his eyes. “I think you should fight someone your own tiny baby-size,” Heavy said, gripping him so tightly with his ham-sized fists Joseph honestly believed he could be snapped in two at any second. He slammed Joseph into his knee, knocking the wind out of him and destroying any Hamon he had built up, tossing Joseph away like a sack of potatoes.

Joseph looked up – Lisa Lisa was still caught in fighting Engineer, who seemed to counter every attack she threw his way. This wasn’t good. No Hamon, no chance to even hit this guy, what could he possibly do?

“I was told we would be fighting _men!_ ” Heavy bellowed, shoving Lisa Lisa out his way to an excellently-timed hit from Engineer’s wrench. This knocked her down on the ground, bleeding profusely from her mouth as she struggled to get up. Heavy ignored her, looming over Joseph and snatching him up by his collar. “Did you think you would beat _me?_ ”

“Y-your… next line…” Joseph sputtered, coughing heavily as he tried to get the words out. “Is…”

Heavy frowned, clamping Joseph’s mouth shut with his hand. “Shh. You are not so good as you think.”

“Y’all just ain’t doin’ it right,” Engineer said, the same cocky smile on his face as he headed over to Lisa Lisa. “This all’s what happens when ya fight a man.”

What they didn’t know was that Joseph had them right where he wanted. Inadvertently, they had stepped on a series of concertina wires that crossed beneath their feet, which now had been tangled along their ankles – with Joseph controlling the end that would send them toppling over in a second. He pulled without hesitation, forcing Heavy and Engineer to hit their backs in mere seconds.

“What I was _going_ to say,” Joseph said, regaining his Hamon, “was that your next line was ‘I am not done with you yet,’ isn’t it?”

Heavy roared as he scrambled to his feet, yelling in Russian before pausing. Even between languages, Joseph had gotten it right. This moment of panic and anger made Heavy charge without thinking, giving Joseph the chance to strike him with a flurry of Hamon punches, a loud, long scream of pain following Heavy as he collapsed.

“Oh, and you!” Joseph said. “Your next line is ‘I’m gonna beat you like a rented mule, boy,’ right?”

Engineer growled, scrambling to get his wrench. “I’m gonna beat you like a rented mule, boy!” He gasped, before grinding his teeth in seething anger. “I’m _done_ playing games with you!”

He grabbed his wrench, swinging it violently at Joseph. Dodging quickly, Joseph grabbed his clackers, preparing them with enough Hamon to knock this guy into next week. Lisa Lisa had gotten to her feet as well, sliding to attack Engineer while his back was turned. In a flash though, he had turned the wrench’s momentum against Lisa Lisa, with only her Hamon-charged scarf stopping her from facing another crushing blow. Joseph, meanwhile, had his clackers ready to go, waiting until he was sure Engineer had turned his attention away.

Lisa Lisa was doing an excellent job of keeping him distracted, giving Joseph the perfect opportunity to launch his clackers right at Engineer’s head. No time to waste, no other fancy tricks – this guy wanted them dead, so better to kill him first. But, just before the clackers made contact with his head, Engineer grabbed them out of thin air with his gloved hand, making all the Hamon energy Joseph had put into it useless.

“Quick as a hiccup, ain’t ya?” Engineer asked, an evil smile on his face. “Heh. Not quick enough.”

Gulping, Joseph went to his backup of just straight-up beating the shit out of the guy. Lisa Lisa joined in with her own Hamon-infused scarf, wrapping it around Engineer to keep him still. He didn’t seem to expect this, yelling out as Joseph cocked back his fist.

Except it didn’t go anywhere else. When Joseph tried to pull it forward, and he saw Lisa’s face overcome with horror as a cruel smile crossed Engineer’s face, he realized why. Heavy apparently wasn’t out, and he had grabbed Joseph’s fist and wrapped it around his entire hand, ready to crush his bones at any second.

“Your luck runs out _now,_ ” Heavy declared, squeezing tight.

In the blink of an eye, Lisa Lisa had sent all of her Hamon energy through her scarf, practically electrifying Engineer, which sent him crumpling to the ground. Heavy yelled out and began to crush Joseph’s hand, but Joseph jumped up – he knew what was coming next. Lisa Lisa slid below Heavy’s legs, striking them both with a crippling Hamon attack. This forced him to release Joseph’s hand, allowing him to grab his clackers again and send them straight into Heavy’s head.

A small spurt of blood and a loud groaning noise accompanied the deadly attack.

Joseph sighed, looking down at the two. Definitely dead, or at least in the hospital long enough to seriously reconsider this whole “mercenary” life they had going on.

“Come on, hurry up,” Lisa ordered, moving down the corridor to where the Medic had gone. “There’s one left.”

“He might be strongest of them all,” Joseph muttered. “I don’t know if we can beat him, especially if he’s half as strong as these two.”

Lisa Lisa paused, slowly turning back. Blood ran from one of her nostrils, and a bruise had formed on her right cheek. She stared at Joseph with a resigned, grim determination to her eyes, almost the same look she had given him when he stood at the bottom of that hellish tower. “We need to beat him. We must have faith in our skills, Joseph. Anything else, and we’re done for.”

He nodded, spitting out a gob of blood. He’d taken a lot of hits today, and while Hamon could get a lot of them healed up, he’d need a _long_ rest. And a lot of time with Suzy Q – no doubt she’d be pissed to high hell when he got back. “Alright then,” he said. “Let’s do it.”

The twisting corridor led them to the meteor’s impact site itself, where the Medic stood with his back to them. He held an arrow in his hand, which looked incredibly old, and yet still new. He laughed as they approached, a menacing sort of thing that didn’t make Joseph feel any better about their chances. _Believe,_ he told himself. _Just trust in Master Lisa._

“Can you feel ze Schadenfreude?” he asked, tossing the arrow aside and spreading his arms wide. “Zey said I was _insane._ Could an insane man do _zis?_ Could an insane man become _god?_ ”

『 Pain 』

『 Medic 』

“You’re just like von Stroheim,” Joseph said, on guard for an attack. “Next thing you know, you’ll be shouting about how German science is the greatest.”

Medic spat in disgust, a low laugh accompanying it as he turned to them, pure evil in his face. “Von Stroheim? He was a fool, blinded by loyalty to the Nazis! I am a man of _real_ science, not the kindergarten fantasies and Grimm fairy tales von Stroheim tied himself to! The occult is the realm of books, don’t you see? _Real_ power is in these arrows, the Stands they produce!”

“Joseph, be careful. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Aw, don’t be like zat!” Medic taunted, producing a blood-stained bonesaw. “Come over here, I promise I will heal you! You have a condition zat I like to call _being alive._ ”

Joseph gulped, shifting to his right as Medic charged for them, slashing and stabbing with his bonesaw. Lisa began to send out her scarf, but like he knew it would be coming the whole time Medic simply hacked it apart. In the blink of an eye, he had sliced up Lisa’s arms, causing profuse bleeding and for her to leap back.

“Did zat sting?” he asked, cackling. “ _Saw-_ ry!”

“Hey! Why don’t you fight me, one on one!”

“Oh, I zink I have a better idea,” Medic replied, closing the distance and cutting the veins on Joseph’s arms. _God,_ not this again. “You have thirty seconds to live! Hold still, zis will only hurt for a moment now…”

“Oh come on!” Joseph shouted. Alright, he had gotten out of this before. It was easy last time… basically. How hard could it be to pull this off a second time? Either way, this had become _truly_ deadly, and Joseph was sure he could knock this guy out once and for all. He threw as many punches as he could aim right, mixing it up with kicks as Lisa joined in one the madness. Each strike that went his way, though, Medic just blocked with increasingly efficiency and even scored counter-attacks on them, causing a lot of lost blood from both of them.

Joseph figured out quickly that there was no way he was going to play to this guy’s honor, because he didn’t _have_ any. Medic was only concerned with murdering them as quickly as possible, but… what if Joseph could offer him something? Maybe not. But he had to go for it – between watching his own blood spill out of him and seeing Lisa Lisa quickly fighting a losing battle, he had no choice.

“Oops!” Medic said, cackling evilly, jabbing at Lisa Lisa and knocking her out. “Zat was not medicine!”

“Wait a minute!” Joseph called out, clutching his bleeding arms as best he could. Medic paused, only long enough to kick Lisa Lisa while she was down before turning to him. Doing his best to show he didn’t mean to attack him further – not yet anyhow – Joseph went to his knees. “You beat me. So… I get the sense you like experimenting. Well, how about bringing a man back from the dead?”

Medic looked down on him, his dark eyes betraying no hint of emotion or intention. He simply pushed his round glasses up his nose, furrowing his brow. “Ze healing is not as rewarding as ze hurting,” he complained, before kneeling down next to him. “Do you zhink I am shtupid? You want me to heal you so you can fight me.”

“No,” Joseph said, shaking his head. “I think that, if nothing else, I at least deserve to know why you’re here before I die.”

The German stared him down with the same ill look on his face, searching Joseph’s eyes for any hint of deceit. He wouldn’t find it. Right now, Joseph truly believed that bargaining with him was the best option. All he had to do was keep the act up long enough for him to patch him up. Finally, Medic drew a sharp breath, silently grabbing a strange device. The beam it produced hovered over Joseph, mending his wounds almost as if by magic, and he immediately felt warm, like he had been rejuvenated entirely.

“Zis meteor uncovered arrows and a strange disease,” Medic explained, unholstering a pistol and pointing it at Joseph to dissuade him from making any sudden movements. “Ze virus affected all of us, but instead of killing us like I thought it would, it gave us ze power and knowledge of these Stands. My compatriots were… eh, how do you say, _stupid._ Zey could not understand vat ve were given. But me… heh… I am prepared to do _vatever_ it takes.”

Joseph shivered as the beam’s warming effect faded away. “So you want to become a god through this? No dealings with Dio?”

“Dio?” Medic asked, his aim faltering. “Who is zis Dio? Anozzer Stand user? I must kill him… take his knowledge for my own…”

_There we go._ Joseph leaped up, now that Medic had so kindly mended his wounds for him. The speed and energy that Joseph used surprised Medic, and he couldn’t raise his gun fast enough to fire on Joseph. Not even Medic’s Stand, whatever it was, could supply him with the ability to counter Joseph’s lightning fast attacks, knocking the gun away and breaking his bones in the process.

“ _You can’t do zis to me!”_ Medic shouted. “ _I am ze_ _Übermensch!_ _Zhe flesh is weak!_ ”

“You must be a doctor,” Joseph taunted, “because you just saw the extent of my  _patience!_ ”

Despite his glasses breaking and his face becoming bloody and swollen, Joseph could easily see Medic’s expression twist in anger. “A  _pun?!”_ he exclaimed. “You’re making  _puns_ at a time like zis?!”

Joseph cocked back his fist, preparing for the final blow. His last attack on Medic undoubtedly crushed his skull, and all Joseph had to do was pull back his hand to see Medic’s eyes roll into the back of his head. That did it. He was done. No vampires, no Dio, no more fighting, not for today at least. Joseph sighed, standing up and looking to Lisa’s body. She wasn’t dead – thankfully – but barely conscious. Well, maybe he could figure out how this weird device Medic had worked.

After pushing buttons, flipping switches, and pointing it in random directions, Joseph eventually managed to get the device working, which just like it had done with him, healed Lisa Lisa to full health. She groaned as she got up, rubbing her head. “What happened?” she asked, looking around.

“I took care of him,” Joseph replied. “We should go.”

“But what about the-”

“They weren’t working with Dio. This guy didn’t know him, and I don’t think any of the others are in any condition to talk to us.”

Lisa Lisa stood up – shakily at first, but she quickly gained her balance back – before surveying the scene again.  The mercs had been defeated.  There was no connection to Dio, so he would not be coming back. She sighed heavily, readjusting her ruffled clothing. “Alright then,” she said quietly. “Let’s go.”

Nodding, Joseph walked next to her, slowly walking past the blood and chaos that consumed the compound they had been fighting in.  They could go back home, get away from this place. Joseph could a last rest, and relax.

He couldn’t wait to go back home.


	2. Nasha Mechta

_Arungabad_ _, India_

_June 20_ _th_ _, 1989_

Their bus had stopped temporarily, primarily for fuel and to allow the passengers to stretch their legs and prepare for the final leg of the journey. Jotaro stood like a statue, waiting for the others to finish doing whatever it was they wanted to do before heading back on the bus. He didn’t really care. All he wanted to do right now was get to Egypt, put an end to Dio and save his mother. Anything to end this madness.

There weren’t many people around. The bus didn’t appear to be popular, or maybe it was just too expensive for some people. Either way, Jotaro was only traveling with the old man, Kakyoin, Polnareff, Avdol and this strange woman that seemed to have latched herself – however indifferently – to Polnareff. Jotaro wondered if Polnareff saw how she regarded him with pure apathy.  Whatever. He didn’t care anymore.

He saw something strange off in the distance. Avdol and Kakyoin had headed back to the bus by now, waiting for the old man and Polnareff to return. Jotaro wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw somebody in the haze of the heat, walking towards them with something in their hands.

“Do you see that?” Jotaro asked, pointing to the horizon.

“Hmm?” Avdol hummed, turning his attention to where Jotaro had pointed. He squinted, a look of confusion crossing his face. “ Yes, it does look like somebody is out there. I wonder why?”

By now, the old man and Polnareff, still talking this woman’s ear off, had joined them. Kakyoin said he too saw the strange figure, as Avdol explained what they had seen.

Of course, the figure had also approached even closer by now, and Jotaro could more clearly see who it was that was nearing. She had stark white hair, her arms covered in tattoos, while  her faded blue jeans had clearly see better days. A tan shirt was  covered by some sort of vest, maybe a piece of armor? Shotgun shells stuck out from some of the pockets, and he guessed this went to the weapon she carried in her hands. Nearly every part of it was black, save for a dark chestnut colored stock that she had tucked in her hands, while her blue eyes were filled with abject hatred.

“Who’s that?” Polnareff asked. “Is she some sort of cop or something?”

“I don’t think so,” the old man muttered. “She might be an enemy Stand user. Watch out, everyone.”

Jotaro narrowed his eyes, watching the strange woman as she started to run at them, raising the shotgun so it no longer bounced against her legs. In the blink of an eye,  she closed the distance with them, shouldering the shotgun as a deafening roar consumed Jotaro’s ears. She had fired, and he only narrowly missed being hit by the massive pellets. A cruel smile crossed her face as she racked the slide back, an equally ginormous shell flying out as she did so.

“It’s been so long,” she crooned, traits of some kind of accent in her voice. “Finally, I can take my revenge! Joseph Joestar! Are you ready to die?!”

Immediately, Jotaro turned to the old man. Kakyoin, Polnareff and Avdol also cast their gaze towards him. The old man, however, seemed to have no idea what was going on.  _Typical._ “Huh?” he asked, confused. “Uh… how do you know me?”

“Her tattoos are in Russian,” Kakyoin said, preparing Hierophant Green to attack. “Have you met any Russians lately, Mr. Joestar?”

The strange woman fired again, but this time her pellets were melted by Magician’s Red. She growled, firing as quickly as she could rack the slide and screaming something in Russian the entire time, until finally, her gun began to click. Out of ammo, probably.

“You killed my father!” she screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at the old man. “I am Suka, and I will have my revenge upon you!”

Jotaro sighed, glaring at his grandfather. “Old man, what’s she talking about?”

“Wait, I think I remember now,” he said, smacking the side of his head. “Back in the 60s, Master Lisa and I went to Sudan, because we were worried Dio  was coming back . We just found a bunch of mercenaries there, and…”

“ _And you killed my father!”_ Suka reminded them. She tossed her shotgun aside, grabbing a grazing horse. As she glowed with an ethereal red energy, the horse whinnied as it was launched into the air, heading right for the old man.

“ _Oh my god!”_ he yelled, dodging out of the way just as the horse slammed into where he had once been. “Who throws a horse at a guy?!”

Alright, so she definitely had a Stand. Jotaro sighed, shaking his head. It was never easy with these people, was it? They always had to make things difficult. “Good grief,” he muttered. Polnareff and Kakyoin had released Silver Chariot and Hierophant Green upon Suka by now, stabbing at her and launching the signature Emerald Splash, with smoke and dust filling the area.

『 Turbo Killer 』

『 Suka 』

Once the dust settled, though, he could see that she was totally unharmed, laughing evilly as she calmly reloaded her shotgun.

“You fools,” she said, done reloading. “My Stand, Turbo Killer, will leave you  _wishing_ you had never been born! When I am done here, Dio will reward me by spreading the Soviet Union across the world! Your families will all be speaking Russian, and  _I_ will be the sole ruler of all Soviet peoples!”

Kakyoin gulped, clearly shocked. “She didn’t even take a single hit from my Emerald Splash,” he muttered. “What kind of power is this?”

“We need to be careful,” Avdol cautioned. “This Stand may be very powerful, and it’s certainly unlike anything we’ve encountered before.”

“You may be beautiful, but I won’t have a problem killing you!” Polnareff shouted, charging in with Silver Chariot. He and Suka clashed, with her easily dodging his attacks  to almost little effort on her end. Suka’s Stand, Turbo Killer, was a nearly jet-black demonic-looking monstrosity of a Stand. It had thick black fur, a head that looked like a hellish mix of a common bear and a hammerhead shark, and arms that didn’t seem to belong to any known mammal. It was a grotesque thing, no doubt matching what little Jotaro knew of Suka’s personality.

But, he didn’t much care. He was analyzing how it, and Suka, fought in order to defeat her. She had speed beyond that of humans, that much he knew. Almost improbably, Suka grabbed Silver Chariot’s sword, gripping it and headbutting Polnareff faster than he could react. So, enhanced reflexes too, definitely increased strength to throw the horse at the old man. Where else did that translate? Kakyoin and Avdol headed in together, engaging with her in a close-quarters fire and emerald fight. She leaped above them, brutally taking them down with almost no effort. Kakyoin was on his back, groaning, while Avdol had been sent flying into the nearby rest building.

“ Old man, she keeps saying you killed her father. What’s that about?”

The old man sighed, watching the scene unfold before him with a wistful look. “There were nine mercenaries there. We killed almost all of them, but the ones left weren’t Russian. We…  _did_ kill one guy that might have been Russian, but to be honest I don’t know for sure. I didn’t exactly think to stop and ask where they came from as they were trying to kill me.”

“Why’d you kill them?” Jotaro asked. “Weren’t they just mercenaries?”

“They had Stands. We didn’t know what they were, because it was the first time we had ever encountered them. Those men were trying to  _kill_ us, Jotaro, we had no choice.”

Jotaro shook his head, blinking only once as he looked back to Suka. “I didn’t ask because I was going to lecture you. I don’t care. She’s in our way, so I guess we have to kill her, too.”

Kakyoin had gotten back to his feet by now, blocking her incoming attacks with Hierophant Green and trying to set up some form of counterattack, but so far it was failing. Polnareff had a broken arm, unable to effectively use Silver Chariot, and Avdol had also broken off to reassess the situation and figure out a new strategy. Suka, meanwhile, had grabbed her shotgun again and continually assaulted Kakyoin, wearing down his defenses. Eventually, she managed to force her way through and provided herself with an opening, aiming the shotgun right at Kakyoin’s head and squeezing the trigger.

Jotaro stopped the shot before it could even leave the barrel with Star Platinum. The shotgun exploded, sending bits of metal and wood everywhere and hitting Suka as well. She shouted incomprehensibly as cuts appeared on her upper arms, the skull and crossbones tattoo on her cheek marred only by a streak of blood just above it.

“So, this is the legendary Star Platinum,” she said, grinning with a twinge of madness to her face. “Good! I was hoping I could kill you today!”

The first punch she threw his way was clumsy, slow. He blocked it easily, countering with one of his own that sent her careening across the ground.  Suka growled, her teeth gnashing like she was a wild animal let out of its cage  as she leaped up, a flurry of haphazard punches coming for him. Star Platinum tracked and blocked each one in sequence, even as she screamed at him in Russian.

Something was off. Jotaro didn’t like how this had become so easy. Kakyoin and Polnareff weren’t slouches, and Avdol probably had one of the strongest Stands out of all of them. So how come this Suka had turned into a clueless, sloppy joke of a fighter against him?  It didn’t make any sense, and Jotaro distrusted it. She kicked at him, succeeding in landing one blow but the others were fruitless. Laughing, Suka backed off for a second, just outside Star Platinum’s range.

“So,  I see your true colors now,” she said,  _smiling_ like she had won something. “You and I are not so different, Jotaro.”

He sighed, showing no emotion on his face. Great. Another grandstander. Sometimes he wished these people would just get it over with and get out of his way. “I don’t care.”

“I think you  _do_ care, you Joestar bastard,” Suka said, stretching out her neck. “We both fight for those who have been wronged, yes? Stand aside, and let me kill Joseph like I’ve dreamed of, and I’ll walk away.”

“No,” Jotaro replied.

Her eyebrow twitched, and her smile faded as she ejected an empty shell, staring at him with clear murderous intent. “What do you mean ‘no’? Do you think you can beat me?”

Jotaro did not oblige her with a response. What was she planning? He had to figure it out.

“Oh, I see  it now,” she said, a cruel grin crossing her face. “You believe you can beat Dio. You poor delusional fool.  You will all die before him, the echoes of my laughter in your ears as I claim this world for the Soviet Union! We’ve talked enough, Jotaro, prepare to die!”

She charged again, turning her weapon’s stock against him. Jotaro shattered the wooden thing with Star Platinum, but this seemed to amuse her more than anything. She turned the barrel towards him, firing as fast as she could work the thing.  Jotaro sighed  as he block ed the incoming shots and preventing the shots from ever landing,  and before long her shotgun was destroyed, useless for anything but scrap metal.

In the blink of an eye, though, Suka’s Stand had grabbed Star Platinum’s arm, breaking it with relative ease.  Jotaro grunted, biting his tongue lest he show Suka she had actually dealt a good amount of damage.  While he still reeled from trying to figure out how she had moved quickly enough to break his arm, Suka delivered a flurry of dizzying, blinding attacks directed as his torso and even finished it up by using her Stand to chomp down on his shoulder.  How the hell had she done this? Star Platinum should have been able to see this coming.  Blood spewed out from his shoulder as her Stand’s fangs drove deeper into his own Stand’s flesh, causing the effect to repeat on Jotaro.

“ Hm,” Jotaro said, grabbing her Stand’s arm as it came in for another attack. “ I figured you’d try that.”

Like an enraged animal, Suka lashed out with another random attack,  this time trying to knee him in the crotch. Her kick found no ground, and before it could even reach him, Star Platinum had blocked the attack and broken her leg, forcing her to the ground.

“You said we weren’t that different,” Jotaro said, putting his hands in his pockets. Her Stand manifested itself again, screeching horrifically as it tried to come for him. Jotaro sighed, easily knocking it back with minimal effort. “We  _are_ different.”

“You don’t know anything about me!” she shouted,  her mouth bleeding profusely. “I will kill you again, and again, and again!”

Ignoring the sound of crunching bones, Suka leapt to her feet, her Stand evading Star Platinum’s flurry of punches to dive through it and claw ruthlessly at Jotaro’s neck. He could feel the hot blood surging out the new wounds as she grabbed him, launching Jotaro through the air and into a recovering Kakyoin. In the blink of an eye, she had broken Avdol and Polnareff’s legs, crippling them for the time being. Jotaro looked up at her as she loomed over him, the fire of nothing but intense hatred and cruelty in her eyes. Without hesitation, she broke Kakyoin’s legs and used her Stand to pick Jotaro up, carrying him as she walked towards the old man.

“You will watch,” Suka declared, throwing Jotaro to the ground, “as I murder Joseph Joestar. When I finish, I will murder  the rest of you, and Dio will reward me.”

Jotaro sighed. “Good grief.”

“What?” Suka asked, turning her attention away from the old man and to Jotaro. “ Did I hear you say something? Or should my Stand take your head off now, stop your  _disgusting noises_ from reaching my ears?”

“Sure. I don’t care. I just wanted to get you close.”

Suka’s face immediately changed to one of surprise as Jotaro used all of Star Platinum’s strength to drive her into the ground. A wave of crimson blood erupted from the dirt, her screams of pain muffled by the attack. Jotaro rose to his feet, sighing as he unleashed another wave of blazing-fast punches, obliterating Suka until she was little more than a mess of broken bones. She protested, of course, screaming at them in Russian, but between the broken limbs and broken back, she wouldn’t be doing anything to them anytime soon.

“Come on,” Jotaro said. “Let’s go. I’m getting tired of standing in the sun.”


End file.
